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Cutthroat Carnage, Again!


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Taco, I'm not talking about the science here but about Winston's posts which you stated were not up front. As for whether something is temporary or not it depends on your time frame. A forest cut down now in SW Alberta won't be growing back in my lifetime.

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Could be but your and my lifetime is still only temporary. I'm talkin' about it's anti harvesting agenda. Mature trees are not only plant matter in the forests, grass, brush and younger trees holds silt in place as well. IIRC roads and unauthorized trails are the biggest contributor to in-stream silting.

 

Star Creek is a UofA research project. To me research leads to better knowledge and understanding, better knowledge and understanding leads to better industry practices

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It sounds like you and Winston are on the same page to some degree. From above: "The carnage left by industry, with the G of A turning a blind eye as they are on Star Creek, has left the land susceptible to further damage by motorized user groups and overgrazing which the G of A supports as it helps blur the damage and gives them an ally."

 

There have been a lot of research projects that are unethical or destructive. Scientists don't always agree and where there is disagreement and the possibility of real harm it seems that the smart thing might be to do nothing. Asking for a moratorium on logging watersheds that contain an endangered species does not seem to be a radical act of eco-terrorism. Taco, what is more important to you, the interests of a few timber companies or healthy populations of cutthroat trout?

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Gee, I wonder why it's so damn hard to have an intelligent discussion about anything on a message board. Multiple people and the worlds smartest bull trout all have the same end goal, the protection of native cutthroat streams (though I must questions the bull trout's motive, I really think all he wants to do is eat.) But throw in a difference of opinion on any project and out come the gloves and people dividing into teams (probably mixed my metaphors there, but whatever).

 

I'm not smart enough to know the issues as I have no idea what the "research" goals are. But I can say that I'm no better informed after reading this, though I have a much higher appreciation of the etymology of Bullshit.

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Well said Rickr. Speaking for myself, I simply wanted some clarity. But you and Osprey are right; let's avoid miring ourselves in internet BS when, essentially, the vast majority of users / readers of this forum fundamentally agree on a core principle of protecting native cutthroat populations.

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No Don that's not quite right. I'll spend plenty of time arguing and discussing with a Don Andersen, a Rickr, a Smitty or even a BobLoblaw or BBT but I'll be gawdamned if I'll spend it with some faceless online handle hiding behind the anmoninity of the internet.

 

 

Call me old ****in' school.

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No Don that's not quite right. I'll spend plenty of time arguing and discussing with a Don Andersen, a Rickr, a Smitty or even a BobLoblaw or BBT but I'll be gawdamned if I'll spend it with some faceless online handle hiding behind the anmoninity of the internet.

 

 

Call me old ****in' school.

Well, I guess I'm just not that memorable in person. We have fished together at Golden Pond on Bullshead, Taco. I'm not a faceless online handle but a fisher like you and most others here.

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Osprey I remember now. Sorry about that but in my defence it seems anymore I forget why I walked to the other side of the room whilst I'm crossing the room.

 

Don... there ain't no damn way I gonna start arguin' with a ****in' pretend fish.

 

And finally I ain't in the mood to get into a "discussion" about the pros and cons of logging, prescribed burns, livestock grazing and it's effects on riparian areas. Tired of the same BS ad nauseam

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I'm glad you remembered that day, Taco. Some really good fish were caught :). I'm also upset that for the last 25 years or so the issues you describe have kept coming up. The paradise I knew when Highway 22 south of Longview was a gravel road is a distant memory. The country I fished around the Upper Oldman in the late 80s and early 90s is almost unrecognizable today. The whole area is suffering "death by a thousand cuts" and it makes me bitter and angry and sad. So, yeah, I understand your frustration.

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Don, the winter show is a maybe at this point. And fissin'? Every time it warms up and I'm caught up it seems the wind is howlin'. I was dreamin' up a apache/gila/lahontan expedition but I decided to invest in a duramax crate motor instead........................ next year.

Maybe there hope yet, I just received an email from Google Great Britain informin' me that I'm one of 12 winners of 650,000GBP. All I have to do is send my bankin' info to their promotions' department.

 

osprey, Yes I remember that day well. Glad I didn't turn around at the sight of the white caps. It was day I decided that friggin' lakes weren't all that bad.

I know what you mean about changes, I've been spending time behind The Gap since 1968 but then again it can be a lot of perspective too. Andy Russell pulled his guided hunts out of that country in the 40's because it was getting to settled and the access way too easy.

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Hi Gang,

 

The news from Star Creek is good. Fortunately, Canfor has seen the folly for what it is and has ceased operations at least until certain concerns are addressed. Not surprisingly, the concerns centre around issues of legislation and policy, or more poignantly, why have both the university and the government turned a blind eye to matters of law and ethics leaving members of the public, and now the logging company, as the last filter in the process? The layout of the cut and both hauls roads do not conform with standards for the recovery plan of WSCT and would not survive a court challenge.

 

There is a story in today's edition of the Crowsnest Pass Herald which provides further details: passherald.ca Sorry, this silly fish still can't figure out how to make the links work.

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Well Gang,

 

The plot thickens. While the reasons are not apparent at this time, the story has been removed from the paper's website. Hmmmmmm... I have a print copy, and oddly enough, there is a half page ad from our government on the same page touting the virtues of the project. Unfortunately, our government claims to have done its due diligence on the project in the add; a claim that can easily be refuted by their own data. They claim "the plan was carefully reviewed by ESRD" and other agencies. This is sad if true as they seem to have missed the fact there are cutties in there, the stream buffers do not meet the requirements of the recovery plan for westslope cutthroat trout and both haul roads contravene the same recovery plan. I could go on, but these items alone ought to have been enough to stop things without having to look at issues of linear disturbance density (roads, trails and the like), and the fact a comprehensive inventory of the basin has yet to be done. Better to cut first and figure out what it affected later I guess. Shameful indeed. It's not that this fish is against resource extraction; its that there is no good excuse for causing harm to the land or the fishery beyond an accident or emergency.

 

I'll keep you all posted on any interesting developments,

 

Winston

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Gang,

 

Logging operations have now ceased in the Star Creek watershed. Due to weather and the efforts of many in exposing regulatory concerns, the project is only 65-70% percent complete. At this time the intention is to return during the dry season, (perhaps July, but given the hydrologic nature of the watershed there is no dry season) to finish. This is contrary to the Operating Ground Rules which state all cutting must be done on frozen ground as the primary mitigation tactic for preventing damage to the watercourses. Once the snow clears, I'll get up there and provide a more complete report.

 

Winston

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